Draft-yoke.



v UNITED sfrarns PATENT, oFFioE.

WILLIAM o. nnneoooi-:, or CHICAGO, rumors, nssrcnon To AMERICAN STEEL FOUNDRIES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y1, A CORPORATION OF JERSEY.

DRAFT-YOKE.

To all whom it'may 'conccmfi 3 Be it known'that I',-',W 11AM C(Hnn'oo0oK,'a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft-Yokes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to draft appliances and has particularireference to a novel yoke. As is well understood-it is common to em? ploy a yoke within which the draft'rigging springs are confined, the forward end of'the yoke being rigidly secured to the coupler shank. Many improvements have been suggested in themeans of attachment of the yoke to the shank some of such means presentingmany advantages. I have, however, conceived the idea of employing'a' form of connection which shall be rigid and immovable under all working conditions of the draft rigging but which may be disconnected without. destructive effort as to any of the parts of the yoke or attaching means. In the device contemplated by me the removal of a single bolt will permit the separation of'the two arms of the yoke and the disconnection of the yoke from the draw bar shank. However, while the'bolt is in place i and the two arms of the yoke are thus secured together it becomesimpossible to remove the yoke from the drawbar.

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of acoupler;

in accordance with'my 1nyoke constructed vention; I I

Fig. 2 is a plan view'thereofwiththe coupler shank omitted;

Fig. 3 is a section onthe line.33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig.4 illustrates a slight-modification of the construction shown in the preceding fig-,

ures.

Referring more particularly to the drawings it willbe seen that the coupler shank 10 is providedwith the usual enlarged buttend thereby forming undercut shoulders 11.

The yoke of my invention comprises upper.

and lower arms 12, 13 separately formed but united at their ends by means of apertured lugs 14 and abolt 15. The forward ends of ferent manner.

Specification of Letters Patent. 7 PatentedApr. 24, 1917. Application sled October 25,1915. Serial No. 57,667..

17 which extends acrossthe arm and is in dowelslS, soformed as to registerwith the holes in the coupler butt. To therear of the ribs and likewise extending transversely across each of the arms 12, 13 is an abutment 19 with which the end of'the'coupler sha nk engages. In Fig. 11 have shown a follower 20in place. This follower may assume different-forms from that shown.

The yoke is applied "as follows: It being "assumed that the yoke is in two parts, or

halves,each half is applied by inserting the hook portion 17 in the undercut portion'll ofthe draw bar shank, it being possible to do this only when thearm or half is in an "angular position, that is with the rearward ends of the halves separated materially. After the hooks on the draw bar and yoke are engaged the rearwardends of the halves are brought together, the abutments 19 lying behind the butt of the coupler. When the it will be seen that the yoke cannot be separated from the draw bar thus providing a secure connection by the use of but a single bolt. There is practically no strain on this bolt due to the fact that. the pull on the yoke is'in a straight line fromthe hooks to the rear end thereof. i

In Fig.4 I'have shown a slightly modified construction in that'the abutments 19 shown in Fig. l are-omitted. In order to secure the desired result I have constructed the butt end of the coupler in a slightly dif- In the butt end 21 I have provided a pair of transverse apertures 22 on the top and bottomfaces of the butt,

1 these apertures'extending in a curved line thereby forming an undercut shoulder 23. The upper and lower arms 24, 25 of the yoke are provided at their forward ends with side webs 26 which lie'outside of the butt of the coupler and at the ends the arms, are provided with hooks 27 shaped to conform to the shape of the recesses 22. By reason of the shape of the hooks and recesses it is not possible to insert or remove the arms except when their free ends are separated, the

1 "action in applying or removing the arms being the same as that described in connection with the preceding figures.

A construction such as described will be found eflicient in service in that it cannot accidentally become detached, the parts may be made heavy and rigid and the possibility of the shearing of rivets is avoided. Obviously modifications may be made in the con struction shown and such modifications as are within the scope of my claims I consider within the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a draft yoke, the combination of two halves, an inturned hook provided at the forward end of each half, webs at the sides of the members, said webs joining the ends of the hooks to the sides of the arms, and a bolt for uniting the halves at their rearward ends, substantially as described.

2. In a draft device, the combination of a coupler shank having an enlarged butt end providing undercut shoulders, a yoke composed of two separate parts, the forward ends of said parts being bent in two directions to provide a hook adapted to engage beneath said undercut shoulders, and a bolt Copies of this patent may be obtainedfor for uniting said two parts of the yoke, the arrangement being such that the parts of the yoke may not be disengaged from the draw bar shank when united to each other.

3. In a draft device the combination of a coupler shank providing undercut shoulders at its butt end, a two part yoke, each of'the two parts of the yoke being provided at one end with a portion which is deflected downwardly and backwardly, a transverse abutment provided on each of said two parts and located between the ends thereof, and a bolt for uniting the two parts of the yoke, the arrangement being such that said parts of the yoke may be operatively attached to the butt end of the coupler only when the opposite ends of the parts are separated.

It witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM C. HEDGCOOK.

l/Vitnesses O. T. MURRAY, T. D. BUTLER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

